Editor's note: Research by McKinsey & Company's Organization Practice finds that better collaborative capabilities help companies achieve superior ﬁnancial performance. These results are supported by academic research, which shows that the ability to collaborate in networks is more important...

China has been a fascinating destination for me. I have visited once, and it was a humbling experience to see myself as a small man on the Great Wall. Now I'm on my way to the World Economic Meeting in Tianjin, the summer Davos as it's called. I'm excited about going there because it's a confluence...

The term “strategic planning” conjures up images of suits in conference rooms diagramming the path to world domination on whiteboards. All too often, strategic planning is an activity reserved for the organizational elite—executives aided by consultants. The top dogs think up all the big ideas—and...